REDWOOD
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| Redwood was left, abandoned, in an outdoor cage with no food or water. A neighbor noticed that a week had gone by and still no one had come to his aid. She contacted Yavapai animal control who promptly picked him up and off to the local shelter. This was back in early September.
Redwood was put at four years old by the shelter; we think he might be a little older than that.
He's out of primarily import lines and has higher than average drive levels, particularly prey drive...he will be a ball nut and will not be placed with small kids, cats or small dogs...only one other large breed female.
As a result he is just a tiny bit tentative if quickly approached by someone he doesn't know. We knew to take a slow approach and Red quickly trusted and relaxed and even let us push him with strong corrections. He's a confident, compliant fellow who, once bonded and into a more consistent routine, will be high energy, loyal and protective of his property and pack. Red is house trained, crate trained, knows sit and down, walks beautifully on lead with a knowledgeable handler but will pull someone with less experience. He has very good focus which, after completion of a group obedience class, will increase to excellent. His fosters are socializing him as time permits and he requires lots more. We did not have the opportunity to get him up close and personal with a strange dog, however, we know he does well with dogs that are familiar as evidenced by this shot with his female roommate Buffy:
This is a super nice affectionate dog, best with an owner with some experience and time for a previously neglected fella. He is chipped, vaccinated, neutered, crate and house trained. UPDATE 11/14:
We spent several hours with Red last weekend and here's what we know.
He's a high drive, confident fella requiring an experienced handler. He's a doll in the house and very well behaved..a fast learner in need of a strong leader. Due to his previous neglect and backyard upbringing, he has a little "stranger danger" and defensively aggressive with strange dogs..very typical. UPDATE 1/5: The last time we had Red out at the park, he was somewhat reactive with strangers and strange dogs. We spent yet another hour with him over New Years weekend and he has made much progress in that regard; no lunging or barking, excellent focus with a staff member and very compliant when relying on a confident leader. He has also done very well on walks with his foster Mom.
We later went to his foster home where his foster Mom was having a problem with overly protective behaviors when guests tried to enter the home. It was immediately clear to us who the leader was inside of house. In essence, Red will not let anyone in "his" house and was extremely aggressive even after we gained entry while he was on leash. He definitely displayed
ownership of his turf. UPDATE 3/23: Red has been working with a trainer at home and has made substantial progress with respect to strangers in his house. He has also been extensively socialized and does great off his home turf. That said, this gorgeous hunk still requires an experienced handler;IF YOU NEED A SERIOUS HOME PROTECTOR, RED IS YOUR GUY. The rest of the time he's just a smart, handsome cuddle bug.
Adoption fee $325.00.
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After languishing un-adopted at the Prescott Humane Society he was scheduled for euthanasia due to space constraints. We were contacted then to see if we could help but we too had no place to put him. Enter some kind souls..thank you Chris & Rick...who eventually picked him up and brought Red to Phoenix. They jointly fostered him between their two homes in an effort to place him but soon realized they needed some help and gave us a call.
We spent over an hour with this very handsome fellow and here's what we know:
Red has had a very confusing past few months; he went from survival mode outside to the chaotic and frightening shelter environment, neuter surgery, vaccinations, etc., then off with yet another stranger alternating between two different homes, so he can't help but wonder who you are and what will happen next.
